Apparatus for ironing articles of apparel



Jan. 27, 1970 J. NIEHENKE APPARATUS FOR IRONINQ ARTICLES 0F APPAREL Filed March 13, 1968 INVENTOR HEINKE E N .m h m Q hiSATTORNEY United States Patent 3,491,469 APPARATUS FOR IRONING ARTICLES 0F APPAREL Joachim Niehenke, Hameln (Weser), Germany, assignor to Sinram & Wendt, Hameln (Weser), Germany Filed Mar. 13, 1968, Ser. No. 712,750 Claims priority, applicatigg Gtirmany, Mar. 16, 1968,

s Int. Cl. D661? 71/00 US. Cl. 38-71 11 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to apparatus for ironing articles of apparel, and more particularly for apparatus for ironing of trousers and slacks.

It is already known to provide apparatus for ironing articles of apparel wherein the article is disposed between two plate members which press against the article. One of these plate members carries a sheet of rubber in which resistance wires are embedded, for instance by vulcanizing. This sheet of rubebr presses against the article of apparel so that the latter will be ironed when electrical energy is supplied to the resistance wire, heating the same.

However, this known construction does not provide a solution to various problems which have been encountered. Specifically, the resilience of the rubber makes it impossible to obtain sharply defined creases in the article of apparel, for instance trousers which it may be desired to iron with the apparatus. Evidently, it is not possible to press the article tightly and along a clearly defined line against the opposite or back-up plate member when the rubber of the heatable rubber sheet will yield under pressure. Furthermore, special types of rubber which are resistant to the relatively high temperatures encountered must be used and these special rubbers are expensive. Beyond this there is the constant danger that the inherent flexibility of the rubber coupled with the brittleness which develops during the aging process and which of course is vastly accelerated by the frequent heating of the rubber, will result in cracking of the rubber and will lead to short-circuiting of the resistance wires.

Lastly, the rubber sheet has a tendency to attract and retain and/or develop unpleasant odors, particularly if an article of apparel is moist-ironed, that is if the article itself is either moistened or if a moistened pressing cloth is interposed between it and the rubber.

An attempt has been made to overcome these problems by eliminating, in another known construction, the rubber sheet serving as the heat exchanger, and substituting therefor a metallic plate member in which the resistance wire is embedded. This, however, is necessarily rather heavy, thus resulting in unacceptably high weight for the apparatus and making the latter unsuitable for private use for which it is, after all, primarily intended. Evidently, such an apparatus must be readily movable so "ice that it can be removed from and returned to storage whenever this is required. Furthermore, it has been found that with such a metallic plate member it is not possible to obtain constant and even temperature distribution over the entire heat exchanging surface.

It is therefore a general object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for ironing articles of apparel which is not subject to the disadvantages set forth above.

An additional object of the invention is to provide such an apparatus which is simple in its construction and light in weight.

A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of the type under discussion which will not attract or develop undesirable odors, which provides constant and even temperature distribution over the entire heatexchanging surface which contacts the article of apparel and which makes it possible to obtain sharp creases in such articles whenever desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with one feature of my invention I therefore provide an apparatus for ironing articles of apparel which comprises support means, and two platens which are connected to this support means. Each of the platents has an exposed surface and the platens are relatively movable to and from a position in which the exposed surfaces engage an article of apparel which is disposed therebetween. At least one of the platens is of laminated construction and comprises at least two laminar panels and an electrically energizable heating element embeeded between the panels for heating the same and for thereby ironing an article of apparel which is is heat exchanging engagement with the exposed surface of this one platen.

It will be appreciated, of course, that is entirely within the perview of my invention that both platens consist of laminated materials, and that both have resistance wire embedded therein.

It is advantageous according to my invention that the laminated panels be thin sheets or layers of wood which are laminated together under pressure and with the use of synthetic resin materials.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus embodying my invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary section through a platen constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a platen having the general construction shown in FIG. 2 but provided with a seam-accepting recess;

FIG. 4 illustrates in elevational view a further embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 5 is a section taken on the line V-V of FIG. 4.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Discussing now the drawing in detail, and firstly FIG. 1 thereof, it will be seen that reference numeral 1 generally indicates an apparatus embodying my invention. A support, which is not specifically identified with a reference numeral, carries a first platen or back-up plate 2, and a second platen 4 which in the illustrated embodiment is turnably mounted on the first platen 2 by means of a hinge 3. A handle 5 makes it possible to arrest the platen 4 in its two end positions, the inoperative one of which is shown in FIG. 1, whereas in the operative position it will be pressed towards the platen 2 so as to tightly press an article of apparel thereagainst.

In the embodiment iiiustrated in FIG. 1 the platen 4 constitutes a support for a heat-exchanging panel 6 whose construction in cross-section is shown in FIG. 2. The panei 6 consists in the illustrated embodiment of two relatively thin layers of wood 3, 9. between which there is embedded a heating means in form of a single or a plurality of resistance wires 7. The resistance wires are of course well known and need not be further described. The panels 8, 9 are laminated together, and to the embedded resistance wire or wires 7 in known manner by means of synthetic resin material, for instance, Actually, the lamination of such panels via synthetic resin material is of course known per se although the construction as a teat exchanger with the embedded resistance wires 7 is not known.

Of course, the panels 8, 9 could consist of material other than wood also, for instance, synthetic plastic material or other suitable material having the requisite stiffness so as to eliminate yielding of the composite sheet 6 when the platen 4 with the sheet 6 is pressed against a garment so as to compress the same against the platen 2.

The use of the construction illustrated in FIG, 2 for the sheet 6 is highly advantageous because it makes the apparatus very light and enables obtaining of a constant and even temperature over the entire heat exchanging surface of the sheet 6.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the resistance wire or wires 7 will of course be provided with an electric cord 8' which carries a plug by means of which the apparatus can be connected to a source of electric energy so that the wire or wires 7 can be energized to produce heat.

Inasmuch as garments or other articles of apparel which are to be ironed with the apparatus according to the present invention frequently have seams which are so thick that they would interfere with the ironing if the heat exchanging surface of the sheet 7 were to be completely planar, I contemplate a further embodiment according to the present invention wherein a sheet 10 illustrated in FIG. 3 and corresponding to the sheet 6 in FIG. 1 is provided with an elongated groove or recess 11 in which an objectionable seam can be received so that the thickness of such seam will not interfere with the ironing. While the reverse side of the sheet 10 is shown as being provided with an elongated projection corresponding to the depression 11 on the heat-exchanging surface, it will be understood that the reverse side can also be completely smooth if the thickness of the sheet 1%) is Sufficient so as to make this possible.

However, it is of course also possible to make a sheet 10 of two sections and to leave between them a gap or slot corresponding to the recess 1 and into which the objectionable seam can extend. In that case, these two sections must of course be secured on the supporting platen 4 although it will be understood that if the sheet 10, or indeed the sheet 6 is of one=piece construction it may be made sufficiently rigid so that it can itself constitute the piaten and the supporting platen 4 can then be omitted.

The embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 shows a different construction of an apparatus utilizing the present invention. A trousers holder is identified with reference numeral 12 and comprises two clamping portions 13 (only one visible) between which the cuffs of a pair of trousers 15 are clamped in known manner. The cuffs are identified with reference numeral 14, Below the cuffs 14 there are provided two pressing or ironing devices 16 and 17, which as illustrated in FIG. 5, are hinged at 22 and each consist of a platen and a platen 21. FIG. 5 illustrates only a cross-section through the device 17 and it wilt be understood that the device 16 is of similar construction,

The width of the platens 20 and 21 of the respective devices 16 and 17 is such that, when they are properly applied in the manner shown in FIG. 4, they leave between themselves a gap in which the seam 18 of the trousers can extend so that the seam does not adversely infiuence the ironing effect.

As shown in FIG. 5, the platen 20 carries on its inwardly directed surface thereof a plate 23 which, while there is not specifically illustrated, is constructed in the same manner as illustrated in FIG. 2. If desired, a similar plate can of course be provided on the platen 21. The devices 16 and 17 are both connectable to a source of electrical energy by means of the cord 19 shown in FIG. 4. It will be appreciated that a manually or automatically operable regulating device can be provided for regulating the attainable heat within desired safety limits,

It will also be understood that suitable means (which are not illustrated) are provided for clampingly arresting the platens 20 and 21 of the devices 16 and 17 in their Working positions in which they engage the trousers 15.

It will be appreciated that the present invention is applicable to ironing apparatus not only of the type suitable for ironing of garments, but, for ironing of any other articles whatsoever, regardless of whether ironing is effected in dry condition or in moistened condition.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together may also find a useful application in other types of constructions differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in an apparatus for ironing articles of apparei, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that from the standpoint of prior art fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for ironing articles of apparel, comprising, in combination, support means; two platens connected to said support means and each having an exposed surface, said platens being relatively movable to and from a position in which said surfaces engage an article of apparel which is disposed therebetween, and at least one of said platens being rigid and of solid cross-section and comprising at least two laminar panels and a iayer of synthetic plastic resin material located between and bonding said panels together; and an electrically energiz able heating element embedded between said panels in said layer for heating said panels and thereby ironing an article which is in heat-exchanging engagement with said exposed surface of said one platen.

2. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said heating element is an elongated resistance wire.

3. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said laminar panels are synthetic resin-laminated sheets of wood.

4. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said one platen comprises an additionai surface facing away from said exposed surface; and further comprising a reinforcing plate secured to said additional surface and being substantially coextensive therewith.

5. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said exposed surface of said one platen is a planar surface.

6. An apparatus as defined in claim 1; further comprising connecting means connecting said platens to said support means for hinged movement of at least a first platen with reference to the second platen.

7. An apparatus as defined in claim 6, wherein said first platen is said one platen.

8. An apparatus as defined in claim 5, wherein said exposed surface of said one platen is provided with a slot-shaped discontinuity adapted to receive an elongated portion of increased material thickness of an article of apparel which is to be ironed.

9. An appartus as defined in claim 8, wherein said discontinuity is an elongated groove provided in said exposed surface of said one platen.

10. An apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein said one platen consists of two sections each provided with 10 surface facing away from said exposed surface; and further comprising a reinforcing plate secured to said additional surface.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,047,837 7/ 1936 Schmieglitz 3871 3,145,490 8/1964 Corby 38-71 3,290,807 12/1966 Esaka 38-71 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,161,841 9/1958 France.

PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner 

